Looters ransack San Francisco Neiman Marcus in broad daylight
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Looters were captured on video Monday ransacking a Neiman Marcus in San Francisco as thefts continue to plague businesses in the area.
At least nine suspects smashed display cases, snatched handbags, and jetted out of the building before law enforcement arrived to the scene at about 6 p.m., according to footage. The suspects were seen running out of the store with their hands full of merchandise before entering an apparent getaway car that sped off down a busy intersection.
The San Francisco Police Department has not made any arrests in connection to the incident, though it is "analyzing videos and speaking with witnesses" to identify the perpetrators, a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
Neiman Marcus said that "no one was harmed" during the theft.
"The safety and welfare of our associates and customers is our top priority, and we’re relieved to report that no one was harmed in the incident," a spokesperson for the company told the Washington Examiner. "We’re cooperating with the San Francisco Police Department in their investigation.”
A man was caught on video in June filling a garbage bag with what appeared to be hair products before leaving the drugstore on his bicycle. A security guard, who was recording the incident, tried to grab the individual, though he eluded custody.
Walgreens shuttered 17 of its stores in the San Francisco area in the past five years, and the company said thefts in the area are four times more likely than anywhere else in the country as executives budgeted 35 times more for security personnel to guard the chains.
Target executives in the city also decided to limit business hours in response to an uptick in larceny.
Shoppers can no longer buy products in the chains after 6 p.m. after once being permitted to shop until 10 p.m.
"For more than a month, we’ve been experiencing a significant and alarming rise in theft and security incidents at our San Francisco stores," a spokesperson for Target said at the time.
San Francisco Police Lt. Tracy McCray faulted District Attorney Chesa Boudin's "criminals first agenda" for the uptick in theft incidents.
"What happened in that Walgreens has been going on in the city for quite a while," she said in June. "I’m used to it. I mean, we could have a greatest hits compilation of people just walking in and cleaning out the store shelves and security guards, the people who work there, just standing by helplessly because they can’t do anything."
"The 'criminals first' agenda from the district attorney [is to blame] because he's not prosecuting any of those crimes as felonies [or] as a commercial burglary. [Criminals realize,] 'This is gonna get slapped down to a misdemeanor,'" she continued.
Thefts under $950 are considered a misdemeanor in McCray's area of operation, she added, and suspected criminals are often issued citations instead of spending time in jail ahead of their court date. In some cases, she said, thieves will have their case thrown out if they skip their court appearances.
1 comment:
Not sure why the $950 misdemeanor is brought up, in Texas it's $1,500. The big difference is that in Texas someone is likely to shoot you if you're stealing stuff in front of them.
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